Town Hall season is here. But not for news/talk radio stations. It’s a cable news phenomenon.
On Wednesday night, I stumbled upon two Town Halls. Admittedly, after a long week, I thought it was Thursday.
When I realized there was no Thursday Night Football to watch, I found myself bouncing back and forth between CNN’s Town Hall with Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and NewsNation’s Town Hall with Bill O’Reilly, Stephen A. Smith, and Chris Cuomo, along with politicians from both sides of the aisle.
NewsNation’s production was superior in every sense: heavy-hitters anchoring, a better backdrop at the Kenny Center, and higher-quality guests, including White House border czar Tom Homan, former Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), Rep. Tim Burchett (R-TN), and Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA). But setting those details aside, watching both Town Halls made me wonder if radio is missing opportunities to leverage events like this on a more local level.
Many of the great stations in our format have hosted local debates during election season, although admittedly, those are becoming more challenging with each passing cycle. Consultants often discourage candidates from debating or severely limit their participation, seeing more downside than upside. They may not be wrong: a big blunder goes viral on social media, while an eloquent, well-delivered answer rarely gets attention.
That’s where the Town Hall concept may be more appealing to elected officials, as they aren’t in election season, and even a misstep is less likely to hurt them at the ballot box. These can become sponsorable events, especially if the station brings together a broad range of voices and opinions that appeal across the aisle—just like NewsNation offered a better listen than watching Bernie Sanders repeat the same-old schtick that would make Karl Marx blush.
If resources require a scaled-back version of the Town Hall, an in-studio roundtable with listener-submitted questions via phone calls or texts can be effective. Bring in a variety of voices — but not too many, as multiple participants can be harder to follow on radio compared to TV — enough to make it compelling. Use callers and texters to encourage audience engagement, and you have a potentially winning formula.
As for the issues, that’s the easy part. Many major American cities are struggling with financial and crime problems. States are shifting further to the right or left with each passing cycle. Incorporating a federal government angle with local members of Congress can create a gold mine of content.
Any competent programmer would not only pre-promote the event to make the station feel “big” but also use clips and moments from the Town Hall or roundtable in the hours and days afterward in local programming. That is arguably the most valuable part. Cable news channels use this formula regularly — it showcases the work done while providing local hosts with content they can leverage immediately.
As we head into the home stretch of 2025, with vacations, busy schedules, and more on the horizon, look for opportunities like this as benchmarks for 2026. Especially in the first few months before midterm conversations pick up, events like these offer wins for your audience, your hosts, and your sales department.
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Pete Mundo is a weekly columnist for Barrett Media, and the Vice President of News/Talk for Cumulus Media, while also hosting “Mundo in the Morning” and programming KCMO Talk Radio in Kansas City. Previously, he was a fill-in host nationally on FOX News Radio and CBS Sports Radio, while anchoring for WFAN, WCBS News Radio 880, and Bloomberg Radio. He’s also the owner of the Big 12-focused digital media outlet Heartland College Sports. To interact, find him on X @PeteMundo.
